‘I will never separate children according to race and religion’ says Britain’s ‘strictest’ headteacher amid court battle
17 January 2024, 14:27
A school led by ‘Britain’s strictest head teacher’ has been taken to court by a Muslim pupil over an alleged ‘prayer ban’.
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Michaela Community School in Brent, north London, introduced a policy amounting to a ‘prayer ban’ in March 2023.
School headteacher and founder Katharine Birbalsingh first introduced the policy and was then later ‘remade’ by its governing body in May, a court heard on Tuesday.
Ms Birbalsingh issued a statement online today as the school is set to lay out its defence at the Royal Courts of Justice.
In her statement, Ms Birbalsingh said the school wants to “defend the culture and ethos of Michaela” and that she “will never separate children according to race and religion’.
It reads: “We are in Court to defend the culture and ethos of Michaela and the decisions the governors have taken to maintain a successful and stable learning environment where children of all races and religions can thrive.
“Ours is a happy and respectful secular school where every race, faith and group understands self-sacrifice for the betterment of the whole. We are one big Michaela family.”
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) January 17, 2024
It continued: “The Governing Body has to take the decision to stop prayer rituals when some pupils started them, against a backdrop of events including violence, intimidation and appalling racial harassment of our teachers.”
“Muslim families have signed up to the school knowing that we do not have a prayer room. We all eat vegetarian food so that we can break bread together at lunch where children are not divided according to race or religion. We all make our sacrifices so that we can live in harmony.
“We believe it is wrong to separate children according to religion or race, and that it is our duty to protect all of our children and provide them with an environment which is free from bullying, intimidation and harassment.
“I will never separate children according to race and religion.”
The student, who cannot be named, took the school to court over the policy which she has told the High Court is discriminatory.
She told the court the ban is “like somebody saying they don’t feel like I properly belong here” and that it feels like "the kind of discrimination that makes religious minorities feel alienated from society”.
She also claimed that the ban breaches her right to freedom of religion and that it “fundamentally changed” how she feels “about being a Muslim in this country”.
Her lawyers claim the ban "uniquely" affects the Muslim faith over other religions due to its ritualised nature and rules around prayer.
Lawyers for the school, which is opposing the legal challenge, previously argued for the proceedings to be held in private due to an alleged "real and immediate risk of harm" to staff and pupils, based on past threats made to the school and a ‘bomb hoax’.
But Mr Justice Linden rejected their arguments while also ruling that the headteacher and school could be identified.
The pupil's lawyers claim the ban "uniquely" affects the Muslim faith over other religions due to its ritualised nature and rules around prayer.
The student also said: “Muslim students now know that a requirement of their religion is not respected by the school or seen as important enough to even engage in a discussion about how it might be facilitated.
"I find this extremely sad and difficult, and I am not alone. It is the kind of discrimination which makes religious minorities feel alienated from society."
The school, which has an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted, has previously been dubbed ‘Britain’s strictest’.
On Tuesday, the court heard that the ban emerged in the wake of a group of pupils being seen to pray outside in the playground and amid harassment targeting the school.
Courts heard that governors at the north London school imposed the ban “on the basis of misinformation and errors”.
